Yikes! In a new MLB Ballpark Food Safety Ranking analysis by Sports Illustrated, Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, is at the bottom of the totem pole.
The analysis, released Tuesday, ranked 28 of the 30 Major League Baseball stadiums based on data from local health department records. Cleveland and Detroit did not respond and were left off the list.
Sports Illustrated says Tropicana Field has been cited 241 times this year, with 105 of those citations being labeled as "critical violations." The complete analysis, below, mentions black mold and live insects accumulating in food service areas:
With a staggering 105 critical violations in 2017, Tropicana Field brings up the rear in our rankings. Two food entities (the catering kitchen and the stand outside Section 303) tallied over 20 violations each.
Violations ranged from the observed presence of live insects to black mold accumulating inside an ice bin. An employee was observed handling hot dogs and cash without washing hands in between.
An ESPN report from seven years ago found that every inspected stand at Tropicana had at least one critical violation. That number has dropped from 100% to about 50%, but the Tampa Bay stadium still leads the way in eye-popping food safety numbers.
Marlins Park clocked in at number 11 on the list, with a total of 38 violations -- 18 of those cited as "critical." And, surprisingly, or not so much, The Clevelander harbors many of those violations:
The biggest culprit driving violation numbers is the Clevelander... The inspector temporarily required the Clevelander to stop selling food until it fixed its numerous issues (the problems were resolved quickly and it was able to sell food again within the same day).
Many of the stadium’s other violations involved a lack of hand washing or cooked meats held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
Safeco Field, home to the Seattle Mariners, took the top spot in the analysis. You can check out a complete list of the findings, here.